PAP President to address media on upcoming Committee Sittings

President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), H. E. Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira will on Friday  at 12h45 (South African Time) conduct a virtual press conference on the upcoming Sitting of the Permanent Committees of the Sixth Parliament (22 August to 02 September).

PAP is holding her first Sitting of the Committees after successfully electing its Bureau on 29 June 2022 following the suspension of parliamentary activities for almost one year as a result of disagreement over the rotation of the office of the President of the Parliament. Prior to the said suspension of parliamentary activities on 01 June 2021, the parliament was affected by the 2020 worldwide lockdown due to the COVID-19. In effect, the Parliament was closed for almost two years (March 2020 to June 2022).

The upcoming Committee Sittings should therefore be appreciated within the context of the fact that the last Sitting of the Permanent Committees of the Parliament took place in March 2020.

According to a release by Mr. Jeffrey Onganga (PAP Media Officer) H. E. Chief Charumbira will address such issues as the resumption of parliamentary activities after almost two years of inaction and the Sitting of the Permanent Committees. From indications so far, the Bureau is rebranding the Parliament as seen from the actions taken since its inauguration on June 29.

For example, the election of the leadership of the eleven permanent committees and the two caucuses (women and youth) left no one in doubt as to the commitment of the new Bureau to the principles of equity and fairness. This is because, the chairpersons of the eleven permanent committees and other leadership positions were evenly distributed  such that each region got two committee chairperson positions as opposed to what obtained in the past were some regions got as high as four chairperson positions whereas some got none.

H. E. Chief Charumbira will also speak on the Conference of Speakers of African National Parliaments which has been scheduled to take place on 01 – 02 September and the Strategic Reorientation Workshop for members of the Parliament.

In recognition of the role of the media in enhancing the visibility of the Parliament and the need for parliamentary openness, H. E. Chief Charumbira is also expected to speak on Media access to PAP and coverage of the different activities of the parliament.

To be part of the event, please register in advance:  https://bit.ly/3Px5rDs